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The Most Valuable Teams In The NFL

On Tuesday morning, the NHL and NHLPA formally announced its first round of sponsors for the World Cup of Hockey 2016, which is slated for Sept. 17 – Oct. 1 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The two-week international tournament will run prior to the 2016-17 NHL season.

“We had aggressive expectations going in, and we expect to surpass those expectations,” said Keith Wachtel, Executive Vice President for Global Partnerships. “The interest has been nothing short of amazing from our partners.”

Added NHLPA Executive Director Don Fehr: “The World Cup of Hockey 2016 will be played by the world’s best hockey players, so it is a great opportunity for collaboration with these leading consumer brands. We are looking forward to working with these brands on sponsorship activations surrounding our upcoming tournament and related events.”

(Courtesy of the NHL).

PepsiCo, Air Canada, Canadian Tire, Honda, Molson Coors, Tim Hortons and Visa join adidas and Rogers Communications, who were both previously announced last September. Scotiabank will also sponsor the World Cup of Hockey Fan Village.

All of the companies support the NHL from a sponsorship standpoint either at the team or league level. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Wachtel explained to Forbes that the conversations with blue-chip brands began last summer, with the league wanting to remain selective with who they wished to partner with around the international event. Additionally, since the World Cup of Hockey is a unique event built from scratch, the partnerships are unlike a traditional league deal, according to Wachtel.

“The more time that you provide partners the ability to budget — because these are new events that generally are not budgeted — as well as the ability to plan activation around it, ultimately will allow them to see a better return on their investment,” he added.

Over the next few months, the league will continue to announce new partners who wish to activate in both North America and Europe. As the summer nears, sponsors will begin activation plans locally in Canada and also abroad.